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Frumentar
Frumentar is a Gotham-based vigilante, who appeared some time after the Exobyte Event. He is a cyber-organism, having been given extensive synthetic enhancements when an exobyte altered his body. His demeanor is somewhat harsh and serious, although he has demonstrated kindness and mercy to strangers in the past. Character History EARLY YEARS Raphael John Dalbuio was born into a lower-middle class family in Gotham's East End. He was always a bookish type of kid, shying away from most people. His father Albert was a rising reporter for the Gotham Spotlight newspaper; his mother Maria was a crusading social worker, working with abused children and spouses. Both were fairly liberal and very religious Catholics, instilling a strong sense of obligation to their fellow man in Raphael and his brother Julius. Raphael became more social in high school, sticking with a group of friends. They established a reputation as trouble-makers, pranking back bullies and mean-spirited administrators. Chief among these friends to Raphael were Alexis Jones and Terry Brown. After high school, however, Raphael grew apart from his friends and threw himself into his work. He became fascinated with the human neural system, and attempted to create ways to manipulate it. He saw many possibilities for his work: from wireless devices activated with a thought to replacement limbs for the wounded. He found limited funds for both his education and his research. Professor Keith Larren, a technical professor at Gotham, offered him a position with a new research group headed by his friend Doctor Blaine Evans. RUBICON 16 Rubicon 16 was founded on the goal of creating a meta-human soldier to counter-balance the growth of superpowered organizations like the Justice League of America and the Secrety Society of Super-Villains. Raphael, as an assistant researcher, became involved in several experiments at the project; mostly revolving around torture-triggered stimulations of the elusive meta-gene. Raphael felt incredibly guilty as casualties mounted. Shortly after a series of tests with prime subject Regan Bellona and the near-death of secondary subject Veronica Sabino, Raphael decided that he had done enough. Taking a copy of his notes and a sample of his work, he left the Rubicon 16 main facility in Bludhaven and drove to Gotham. He intended to surrender himself and his research to the authorities, expecting a hefty prison sentence. ANOTHER LIFE, ANOTHER CHOICE The Exobyte Event drastically altered these plans. Raphael was found by an exobyte which granted him enhanced strength, agility, and endurance. Suddenly, the device he was holding at the time (a neural system activated visual scanner) began to graft itself onto his skin and spread throughout his body. The bottled technology would bring Raphael into the Brainiac construct. Unlike many exobyte subjects, unfortunately, Raphael was not found by either the Justice League or the Secrety Society. He was left to fend for himself in the Brainiac ship where he was imprisoned. He spent a week in the ship, slowly starving as he avoided any Brainiac patrols. He finally managed to escape during an aerial clash between the new members of the Justice League and the alien intelligence. The heroes were led by Steel, Zatanna, and Superman--the latter of whom appeared to notice Raphael and attempted to rescue him. Unfortunately, Superman was ambushed by a mass of Brainiac drones, and Raphael fell from the ship. Miraculously, he survived the fall, waking on the outskirts of Gotham. After weeks of soul-searching and wandering, Raphael Dalbuio decided that he needed to make penance for his past sins: to the meta-humans, to the innocent public, to God. He believed the best way to do this was to join the great conflict of heroes and villains. To this end, he created an entirely new persona for himself. It would be the idealized Gotham hero; agile like Nightwing, clever like Robin, smart like Batwoman, brutal like Huntress, disciplined like Batgirl, and determined like Batman. THE SHADOW AGENT BEGINS Frumentar took to patrolling the streets of Gotham at night. During the day, he holded up in several safehouses. He continued to tinker with neural technology, selling his designs and expertise, secretly, to struggling techies at Stagg, Starrware, and WayneTech to fund his little hobby. His first major encounter was with the hero Inazuma. Frumentar believed him to be an Arkham escapee (which he technically was), and attempted to apprehend him. After a hard-fought battle, Frumentar saw that Raijin, while aloof and powerful, was no threat to Gotham and ended his attempt to bring him in. Frumentar and Raijin would have several more encounters before the mystic disappeared. Frumentar would also meet the hero Jaeindir early in his career. The super-villain Revenge and Jaeindir were engaged in battle over Gotham, stuck in a stalemate. Happening upon the battle, Frumentar swung over to investigate. The fight quickly turned in favor of the heroes, ending with the JLA arresting Revenge. Frumentar would slip away from the fight with a sample of Revenge's nanites and plans to replicate them for his own apparatus. A little into his career as a hero, Frumentar became familiar with the famous Supergirl--who was a fugitive wanted for murder at the time. After an altercation against the super-villain Beastia in Robinson Park, Supergirl's Phantom Zone enemies attacked her in the air. In an attempt to learn more about the mysterious creatures, Frumentar flew up to investigate. The encounter ended with a Phantom gaining control of his mind. Frumentar spent two days under the control of the Phantom, which spent time learning about the world and looking for information on the Super Family (as noted by their House of El insignia). When Supergirl re-appeared over Gotham's skies, the Phantom struck. Using Frumentar's body, it attacked Supergirl, the superhero Captain Glory, and the Green Lantern deputy Searchlight. The anti-Kryptonian villain Revenge also joined the fray, complicating matters. Revenge's energy attacks managed to short-circuit Frumentar's neural system. The Phantom lost control to the Shadow Operating System, Frumentar's AI backup. Shadow fled the scene, hoping to find a way to keep the Phantom from re-gaining control. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Shadow attempted to fetch help at Gotham University, but the apparatus' functions were severely hampered by damage and neglect. Fortunately, Shadow came across the young hero AlephNull. Being involved with the Phantom Zone Crisis, Null agreed to help rid the Phantom from Frumentar. He called in the young mage Allie to exorcize the being. Allie successfully drove the creature out of Frumentar, allowing Shadow to relinquish control. Frumentar was somewhat angry at the circumstances and his injuries, but thanked Null and Allie for their efforts. After a few days, Frumentar attempted to heal and return to duty. He had another altercation with Searchlight, but the arrival of Rat Brat and Aliyel Lokil quickly changed the dimensions of the conflict. Searchlight took off after Lokil, and Brat and the Shadow Agent quickly slipped away. A ROUGH WEEK Frumentar fought the were-creature known only as "Beastia" several times throughout Gotham, having built a bit of a grudge since the incident at Robinson Park. He managed to capture her once, before the shadow controller Archon Azorius attacked him en route to Arkham Asylum (Azorius believed that Frumentar was working with STAR Labs at the time). Attempting to find data on his enemies, Frumentar made a quick trip to Metropolis. He gleaned files from the local meta-human hospital and STAR Labs' facilities. While trying to de-code them, he was discovered by Supergirl. The Kryptonian broke his arm, angry at his previous attack. When Frumentar revealed that he had been possessed by a Phantom, Supergirl relented. Frumentar angrily nursed his wound, taking off for Gotham. Unfortunately, Beastia and Azorius were waiting for him. The two trapped him atop the Gotham Knightsdome. His injured arm kept him off-form, giving the villains an advantage. As the fight turned grim, however, Jaeindir--recently on-leave from her duties with the Metropolis Science Police--joined the fight. She quickly dispatched Beastia as Frumentar re-focused on Azorius. The shadow controller slipped away from the fight. Jaeindir attempted to assist Frumentar, but the vigilante asserted he was fine and took off for his hideout. NEW FRIENDS, NEW ENEMIES Frumentar encountered AlephNull again when he spotted a group of super-heroes in an alley in Gotham. Null, Allie, Max Delsant, Thuella, and Supergirl. They were planning to travel to the world of the Fae, searching for answers to a human-trafficking ring with mystical connections. Frumentar followed them into the otherworld, which took the appearance of a steampunk Gotham--complete with an iron fortress on Arkham Island and sunlight provided by giant lamps. Frumentar worked closely with AlephNull, providing a grounded adult presence to Null's usual group of young teenagers. Towards the end of the mission, Frumentar, Null, and Delsant made their way into the foreboding iron fortress while Thuella and Supergirl engaged in a diversionary attack. While Null and Max focused on freeing the prisoners held down below, Frumentar made his way to the top of the fortress and confronted the local overlord--a man in arcane iron armor. Frumentar unleashed several heavy attacks on the man, attempting to keep him off-balance. The Shadow Agent punched clean through the iron armor by sending his muscular system into overdrive, and depositing a grenade in the process. He then back-kicked off the man, sending him flying over the bay before he exploded. The group soon returned to the real world after the rescue, and Frumentar promptly vanished. Frumentar would also find new, enduring enemies. Doctor Zombo, the leader of the Funhouse Felons, soon began to rise up in Gotham. The insane chemist planned to create swathes of Jokerized undead, manic and savage in nature. Frumentar fought Zombo several times over the course of a few months. Frumentar nearly captured Zombo by freezing him in ice, with some help from Sprite Speed, but he eventually thawed out and escaped. Frumentar would also come into contact with other Felons, such as the man-child Experiment 668 from Ace Chemicals and Zombo's right-hand woman Sissy Psycho. CHASING DOWN THE SURGEON After an encounter with the magically-enhanced human Quarters near Amusement Mile, Frumentar came into contact with the experimenter and mage Elesya. Elesya had been about to complete a mob contract involving human trafficking. Quarters was transporting two figures to Elesya's base of operations: Andrea Olivares (now known as "Soylent Green") and "Mister Smith." The police intercepted the car, but were driven off by Quarters' momentum and strength. Frumentar managed to outmaneuver the lumbering man, eventually beating him into submission. Elesya soon arrived on the scene. The vigilante and the villain would make a deal: if Elesya let Soylent go, Frumentar would let her take Smith. Frumentar fought the idea, but ultimately came around; rationalizing that Smith was less vulnerable and could be recovered later. Soylent woke with no memories and in existential fear. Frumentar disappeared before he could answer any of her questions. Over the next few weeks, Frumentar would sweep Gotham for signs of Elesya. He finally caught a break when Snowman, Elesya's right hand, met him during a battle with an unknown magic villain. Quarters, however, viciously attacked him in a fit of vengeance. This resulted in Quarters' death when the villain Myketra (attempting to get in good with Frumentar as part of a plot by the Hoods) struck him and broke his neck. Snowman entreated Frumentar to track down Elesya before more of her minions met the fate of Quarters. Snowman would feed vital data to Frumentar, who would eventually muster the strength and resources to raid the Surgeon's lab. With the returning hero Castelliar and the construct Enigma CCX43, Frumentar attacked the base and attempted to bring Elesya in. Sprite Speed also joined in the raid later in the night, provided super fast cover from Elesya's desperate attacks. Seeing the full range of Elesya's depravity, Frumentar attacked Elesya savagely. For a moment, he seemed ready to kill Elesya by choking her. However, remembering that the experiments' lives were tied to hers he relented. Castelliar and Sprite Speed were allowed to take the dangerous mage into JLA custody. HOODS AND METAS Frumentar became aware of the presense of the Hoods after meeting with Supergirl at the Gotham Freight Yards. Frumentar suggested following a strict, aggressive policy with the Gotham-based meta gang, as opposed to Domenic Raven and Myketra's suggestion of making peace. Frumentar would soon be proven correct, as Supergirl's civilian friends and her beloved Thuella would find themselves targets of the Hoods. During an operation intended to follow up on Regan Bellona, Frumentar was captured by Domenic Raven aka "The Black Raven" and Myketra, who were working on behalf of Hoods leaders Grim Phalanx and Thunderbolt. Despite the best efforts of Agent Cecil Fade and her Armitage and Stampede AI programs, Frumentar was eventually beaten and captured. Shadow escaped into Fade's systems, where he began planning a rescue attempt. Frumentar remained a captive of the Hoods for two days, where he was tortured for information about Supergirl by Thunderbolt. Without Shadow, and with his armor in a reduced state, Frumentar sustained multiple injuries. At the end of his captivity, Grim Phalanx physically beat Frumentar within an inch of his life. The armored villain then dropped the Shadow Agent into the Gotham Bay, with a bag over his head and a rabid rat in the bag. Frumentar eventually washed up on shore, and was later found by a search party consisting of Geostar, Enigma CCX43, Sprite Speed, Supergirl, Thuella, and Jaeindir. The heroes arrived just in time to see Thunderbolt's former base erupt in flames, as Sprite Speed, Thuella, and Jaeindir raced to collect evidence on the super-criminals. Supergirl attempted to fly Frumentar to Gotham Mercy Hospital, but was re-routed to the Underside. After Jaeindir returned Shadow to Frumentar, his healing factor soon returned. The events of his capture have left a deep-seated grudge in his heart, as well as an underlying level of respect for the heroes who came to find him. Character Abilities and Traits *Peak Human Strength, Endurance, and Agility *High-Level Acrobat *Cybernetic Interface spread out over most of his body--solidifies peak human abilities, provides environmental information (thermal, sonar, bio-electric, among others), gear catalogue, rocket propulsors. *Weapons: Staff/electric batons, knives, sonic cannon (forms from arm), taser (high voltage), sticky bombs, knockout gas, asphyxiation gas, grenades (thermal and cryogenic). Relationships FRIENDS Frumentar, since his emergence in Gotham, has made several contacts in the superhero community. Frumentar is an "unofficial" member of the UnSanctioned, responding to a few of their alerts in fighting otherworldly or paranormal threats, such as weapons smuggling from Apokolips. He trusts AlephNull as one of the few people to know his "other self" and is willing to bend his usual tactics to accomodate Null's plans. His relationship with other UnSanctioned, such as Max Delsant and the Noose, is rough but oddly friendly. Frumentar and Jaeindir have worked together multiple times against super-powered criminals, both in Gotham and Metropolis. Frumentar has come to respect Jaeindir as a meta who lives up to the high ideals put forward by the Justice League--determined and dedicated to the welfare of the public. Frumentar also developed romantic feelings for Jaeindir after she saved his life against Doctor Zombo, though he is hesitant to act on these feelings. Despite a rough beginning, Enigma CCX43 is one of Frumentar's stauchest allies. The diminuative nanotech entity was freed from STAR Labs captivity by the Shadow Agent, who quickly earned her trust. Enigma classfies Frumentar as "authorized user," giving him a great deal of influence over her. Frumentar has come to see Enigma as a younger sibling, with him guiding her through travails of sentience and dealing with humanity. Frumentar's association with Supergirl can be described as "friendly antagonism." Frumentar makes no secret of his opinions concerning Supergirl, especially her lack of forethought and patronizing attitude towards humans. However, her recent actions against the Hoods and Regan Bellona have earned her a measure of respect from him. Frumentar has also struck up an odd friendship with the Olympian Thuella. Originally an outgrowth of his association with Supergirl, Thuella and Frumentar's friendship became deeper as the goddess questioned the vigilante on topics of human worthiness. Frumentar quickly picked up on Supergirl and Thuella's relationship, and offered Thuella advice on how to nuture it by aiding other mortals. ENEMIES Frumentar has also collected enemies, as do many members of the superhero community. His most persistent, and perhaps most hated, foe is the the sinister chemist turned super-villain Doctor Zombo. Mirroring the emnity between Batman and the Joker, Frumentar and Doctor Zombo represent a very similar personality at odds with itself. Frumentar makes every attempt to thwart Zombo's plans of creating armies of "Jokerized" undead, while Zombo does everything in his power to make Frumentar crack. Interestingly, both characters share a similar origin--a scientist who is transformed into something more due to both an exobyte and their own work (the neural apparatus for Frumentar, and the modified Joker toxin for Zombo). Frumentar also holds a personal hatred against Sissy Psycho, Zombo's second-in-command of the Funhouse Felons. Sissy's broken mind and telepathic powers have done considerable damage to Frumentar's mind, even after his neural modifications were made. There is also a predatory nature to Sissy's mental assaults that puts Frumentar in an even more vulnerable position with her. Frumentar developed a strong, passionate hatred of the Hoods following his capture and torture at their hands--a small part of the meta-gang's war against Supergirl. He has a specific grudge against Domenic Raven and Myketra (who captured and physically defeated him), and Thunderbolt and Grim Phalanx (who were the chief architects of his torture sessions). Elesya presented an especially insidious presence to Frumentar. Despite her background in magic, her "experiments" reminded him of the scientific work he had done in Rubicon. Elesya, to his mind, was an external representation of all the terrible things he had done to others. The Shadow Agent actually came close to killing the Surgeon in a fit of anger, and spared her likely only at the request of her turned henchwoman Snowman. Regan Bellona, aka Ballista, was an even more potent threat--psychologically and physcially. Bellona was the most successful test subject of Rubicon 16, and her military training--combined with her new psychic powers--made her a clearly superior opponent for Frumentar. She thoroughly beat him twice before being defeated by him, and the third fight was also the work of Catalyst and AlephNull running distraction for Frumentar. Category:Characters Category:Gotham Category:Heroes